Surgical Strike: Moorea Surf Mission

A couple days ago, my brother and I were looking to go for a little shred sesh somewhere around Teahupo‘o when we ran into our Hawaiian bruddas Danny Fuller, Kamalei Alexander, Mikey Bruneau, Mark Healey and their friend Petero from the nearby island of Moorea. “Big pass?” said Kamalei, “F—k that, you guys are going to Moorea with us!” With that, we grabbed TransWorld SURF photog Brian Bielmann, threw some trunks in our backpacks, grabbed a board, and drove to the ferry dock in Papeete. Driving onto the ferry, I was getting psyched for some rippable waves at one of my favorite spots in the world—Haapiti. After a 30-minute ride aboard the Aremiti we were there and drove right off the ferry into another island paradise. Twenty minutes later, we’d arrived to Petero’s Haapiti Surf Lodge—right across the road from one of the funnest waves in French Polynesia.

Mark Healey jumps into the blue. Photo: Bielmann/SPL

We loaded up the skiff and ripped the long lefts with just our crew for an hour before anyone paddled out. Switching shifts, we high fived the locals and went to check another un-named spot. Spot X was kinda small so we left it alone and headed back home for some amazing Tahitian food and a few well-deserved Hinano’s. And just like when we were in Australia, I slept in the same bed as my sweaty and smelly brother. Oh the joy…

Day two on Moorea and the swell was still there but a bit wonky from some wind the night before, no matter, we were on it and surfed for a while before it got too crowded which was not surprising seeing as how Haapiti is the main spot on Moorea.

Burnt from two long sessions under the Tahitian sun, we had a huge feed with Petero and his family and headed back to the ferry “bustling” Tahiti. I say bustling because compared to Tahiti, Moorea is the sleepiest and most mellow spot on Earth, just what we needed and the best day trip you could ever make.

The view from the Haapiti Surf Lodge on the French Polynesian island of Moorea. Photo: Bielmann/SPL

Haapiti Surf Lodge has everything a surfer needs; a respected local running the joint, kayaks, bikes, really nice bungalows that go for around $90USD per night, and two boats to access the break if you’re over the 30-minute paddle. To contact email haapitisurf@mail.pf and tell ‘em TransWorld SURF sent ya!